Noam Chomsky on OBL's death

Published May 7th, 2011 - 19:48 GMT

How would Americans feel if Iraqi commandos showed up on his 'compound', killed him and dumped his body in the Atlantic for his 'crimes' on their country; Surviving breaking up an Arab-relationship; The link between Friday prayers and protests; What happened to Jordan's weekly protests?

"Feeling Like you’re starting over, having difficulty trusting again, having an identity crisis, various stages of grief are among the common symptoms people going through breakup often experience.. An Arab breakup is often more brutal than other breakups because for one we tend to make very calculated steps when it comes to our social life. Second, all Arab courtship are a public affair, there is no such thing as down-low. Those are based on real life lessons." We know that the best way to survive this stage is to be ruthless and look out for number one, here’s how you go about it:

Putting Zionism into perspective or at least context.
"It is self-insulting to belittle the enemy’s passions and intellect. The self-evident monstrosity of Zionist-Israeli-Jews should not obscure their humanity, the understanding of which is key to the liberation of Palestine."
"Like any other people, Israeli Jews include the good, the bad, and the ugly; the ultra-religious and the secular; the liberal and peace-loving, and the right-wing chauvinistic ideologue.."

"In the Islamic world, Friday is the day of worship. Muslims are called to pray five times daily at regular intervals, but these are allowed to be performed anywhere. Friday, however, around noon, Muslims are expected to gather together to express their communal commitment to God, at which time a sermon is also delivered. Once gathered together, Friday prayers provide opportunity for activism."

"In the wake of the “Arab Spring,” Jordan witnessed nine consecutive weeks of Friday protests as well as numerous sit-ins calling for political and economic reforms. But as NATO’s intervention in Libya deepened, civil society in Bahrain was brutalized, protests in Syria expanded, and struggles over the limits of regime change in Egypt and Tunisia continued, a tense calm eventually prevailed in Jordan. There are no more Friday protests. In fact, there are almost no more manifestations of contentious politics of any sort."

Amman still the place for a more developed and variated economy and options for young graduates, over other urban centers of Jordan. This phenomenon is not dissimilar from many capital cities as the best bet for career options:
"A female Indian friend once asked me why women in my country work only as teachers. My reply was no they work in other sectors as well. I knew from her that she heard that from a Jordanian friend. But after some little thinking it turned out he is not entirely wrong. He is from Kerak and as you may know both Irbid and Kerak lack the urban development Amman is experiencing. Although both cities have universities, and in case of Irbid I think there are four universities, most of their graduates have to go to Amman to find jobs."